Tooling 4.0 - MOLD BUILDER OF THE FUTURE

Increasing cost pressures and fiercer competition are driving toolmakers to embrace new concepts such as Tooling 4.0 and to industrialize their operations to reduce idle and lead times by limiting the number of variations in tool components and processes. To apply Tooling 4.0 to future projects, Scholle IPN, for example, made its team and several high-quality tool builders’ as strategic partners.​

MoldMaking Technology Editorial Director Christina Fuges asks Scholle IPN Senior Tooling Manager North America to define Tooling 4.0.

Scholle IPN looked, and continues to look for, forward-thinking mold manufacturers possessing all tools in the toolbox but will not exclude shops without all the tools, as long as they are interested and willing to take the next steps with them. ​A top skill set Scholle IPN was looking to implement with its mold-building strategic partner was engineering injection molds instead of designing injection molds. Engineering, by definition, is the application of mathematics, as well as scientific, economic, social and practical knowledge to invent, innovate, design, build, maintain, research and improve structures, machines, tools, systems, components, materials, processes, solutions and organizations. Design is the intentional creation of a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system for the implementation of an activity or process.
Engineering a product (in this case, the injection mold) means to achieve measurable outputs via mathematics and science. Outputs include balancing runner systems (Beaumont theory), mold temperature control (calculate GPM; temperature sensors), conformal cooling (estimated cycle time and part quality targets) and calculations for optimized venting (pressure sensors). In the Industry 4.0 era, engineered molds with digital outputs will be the norm and the mold supplier committed to “engineered” molds is the mold builder of the future.
Here are some expectations that OEM/suppliers might place upon the mold builder of the future to take full advantage of advancing technology.

MoldMaking Technology Editorial Director Christina Fuges interviews Scholle IPN Senior Tooling Manager North America Don Smith about the difference between mold design and mold engineering.

• Reverse engineering. Ability to take older molds and mold components and accurately measure and create, as built, 3D models and prints.
• Virtual mold analysis. Ability to digitally create a molding process with measurable targets before engineering the injection mold, establish measurable cycle times (fill, pack, cooling, pressures), determine warp, venting, part sizes and steel safe areas, and use pressure and temperature sensors, as well as other scientific molding information, and possess end of arm tooling and robotic part removal knowledge.   
• Mold engineering capabilities. Ability to output 3D mold models for virtual analysis, as well as fully detailed/toleranced drawings (.dwg output) and possess a detailed mold assembly manual with PM recommendations.
• Hot runner system knowledge. Understanding of fixed tip, valve gate, hot edge gates, and system balancing.
• Manufacturing/measurement of interchangeable mold components. Ability to manufacture and guarantee interchangeable mold components, confirm/certify critical steel measurements, coordinate measuring machine and laser scanning capabilities.
• Experience building high cavitation, injection molds. Injection mold experience with 16-cavities and higher; pilot mold capabilities for data gathering (using mold analysis) and scientific molding experience (pressure, temperature sensors).
• Injection mold testing capabilities. FOT, FAT, SAT (see sidebar) and DOE experience, process development and turnkey capabilities.

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As the prevalence of IoT increases, experts advise that the adoption of Industry 4.0 is necessary for business survival. However, moving an organization toward smart manufacturing is a multi-faceted project, regardless of company size. Simply put, Industry 4.0 and Tooling 4.0 are all about using technology to turn “dumb” products into “smart” ones.

Reference: industry 40